A view of Black Lion Wharf. A sign on one of the buildings along the wharf reads, ‘Old Shipping Clippers To Let Everyday’. The Black Lion Wharf later became part of the London and Continental Steam Wharf, later still the Carron and Continental Wharves. Luxury housing now occupies the site.

This print belongs to a set of prints entitled 'A Series of Sixteen Etchings on the Thames', produced by Whistler and published in 1871. He etched the plates for these prints after he moved to Wapping in 1859. He worked directly with his subjects and, by doing so, succeeded in highlighting the existence of a working-class maritime community in London. The work is signed and dated ‘Whistler. 1859’, lower right.